


waiting on everything to open

by supremekermit



Series: Summertime [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: A lot of kissing, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, M/M, Polyamory, california au, renjun in crop tops, the beach lmao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-24 00:59:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15618924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supremekermit/pseuds/supremekermit
Summary: somewhere in the midst of salt-tinted air and ever bright sunshine, jeno walks in on his two best friends making out. feelings ensue.





	waiting on everything to open

Jaemin is, in the simplest words, Jeno’s BFF.

They’ve been friends since their pregnant mothers have been friends, and hence have been practically together since the womb. At the age of two, they waddled hand in hand around the sandbox, gurgling syllables at each other while their mothers cooed from the park benches. In kindergarten, Jeno watched in horror as Jaemin chomped down on a crayon and spit out the bit of yellow wax in the face of snotty toddler that had shoved at Jeno’s shoulders in the line for the swings. Then in the summer of fifth grade, he saw Jaemin cry for the first time as Jeno was rushed away on an ambulance, only to be informed that he needed surgery for a burst appendix. Jaemin was there for all the big events and the little moments, the secrets exchanged between layers of cotton as they lied together in the dark. Jeno was there for the first crush and the first break-up, the midnight Skype sessions and sunrise cram.

The point is, they’ve known each other _forever._

So Jeno doesn’t really know why Jaemin never told him about his intentions to shove his tongue down their other best friend’s throat, because that’s exactly what’s happening. Right now.

Jeno had just turned down the hall, a soda in his hand courtesy of their Airbnb’s fridge, only to be assaulted with the sight of Jaemin pressing Renjun against a wall. He’s mumbling something into Renjun’s ear, his mouth just short of grazing the elder’s ear while Renjun’s cheeks flushed pink. Just as Jeno is about to open his mouth, maybe to gripe at Jaemin for not unpacking their bags as he’d promised, Jaemin swoops down, attaching his lips into Renjun’s.

If this was a terrible sitcom, Jeno’s open drink would have slipped from him hand and hit the floor with a dramatic clunk, splattering orange liquid all over the nice and shiny hardwood. Unfortunately, this isn’t scripted television. It’s just Jeno’s completely fucking ridiculous life, with no fake audience to laugh away his horror or a quirky retro soundtrack to cue the cut of scene. Instead, Jeno finds himself ducking behind a corner, mouth slack as he watches his two friends eat each other’s faces.

God, his two best friends are _eating each other’s faces._

If Jeno wasn’t so fixated on the way Renjun’s arms come up to wrap around Jaemin’s neck, or the way he lets out a little giggle as Jaemin pecks at the corner of his mouth, he’d probably notice the beads of liquid sliding down his elbow, making dark stains against his long-sleeve. But no, he’s strangely absorbed and there’s a weird feeling flitting through his chest, sinking to the pit of his stomach. He wants to pass it off as the two burgers he’d downed on the car ride here, but whatever it is, it intensifies as he catches himself focusing on the pretty fingers Jaemin tangle through Renjun’s hair, a little moan escaping from their mess of limbs.

Oh fuck no. He is so not doing this.

Jeno tears his eyes away, choosing instead to look at the can in his hand. The metal is a little warped now, dented from where Jeno’s grip had been. Suppressing a scream, he squares his shoulder and turns away. Maybe Mark would need some help with his luggage.

  


It’s a beautiful day. The sun shines from above, breathing warmth into the soft sand and casting shards of broken light against the blue waters. Jeno sits near the tide, letting his feet stretch into the grasp of the eager ocean. Cool wind pushes against his skin and the smell of salt tints the air with the distinct taste of summer. Letting out a content sigh, Jeno closes his eyes, basking in the picturesque peace.

It lasts for approximately three seconds.

There’s a jab to Jeno’s shoulder and he cracks open an eye to a rare instance of Renjun towering over him, lips stretched into that smile that never fails to make Jeno’s stomach fold into itself.

“Can I sit there?” he asks, pointing to a spot next to Jeno. He doesn’t wait for Jeno’s response before plopping down, wiggling his butt into the sand.

Jeno just rolls his eyes, praying they don’t catch on the too short hem of Renjun’s shirt, or the stretch of smooth, pale skin sitting below it. Renjun wears shirts like this too often. He says they’re crop tops. Jeno believes they should be called the bane of his existence, if his quickening pulse is anything to go by.

Of course, he doesn’t voice this thought. Just like he fails to voice any of the ten million thoughts shouting in his brain as he watches Renjun fiddle with the brim of his straw hat, cheeks shining in a combination of sunlight and sparkle. Really, there’s nothing wrong with pining over one of your best friends. Except maybe the part where you find out said best friend has been making out with another best friend you’ve had feelings for since the eighth grade, and you can’t stop replaying the way their lips had moved together whenever you happen to glance in either direction.

“You look tired.”

Not a surprise, considering Jeno lied awake last night, staring up at the ceiling while Jaemin’s soft snoring filled up the space between their four walls. Clearing his throat, Jeno opts for, “Graduating high school sucked the life force out of me.”

Renjun snorts, kicking up the sand with his feet. “Amen to that.” His mouth twists into a little pout as he squints out at the ocean, hand coming up to shade his face despite the huge brim of his hat. “I can’t believe we’re done with that hellhole.”

“Yeah, me either.”

The reminder that they’re no longer high schoolers tugs at his chest, uncomfortable. There’s just summer now, a delicious slice of hard-won freedom, before they’re splintering, everyone moving in a thousand different directions as they catapult into the world of college and adulthood. The more he dwells on the prospect, the more it unravels, until all that’s left is a loose thread of jarring emotions, woven together into one long string. He doesn’t know where one stops and another starts.

It’s like Renjun can sense this, the way Jeno microscopically draws into himself like he’s recoiling at the thought, because he reaches out, placing a warm hand atop Jeno’s. Their fingers intertwine, and when Jeno looks up, there’s that smile again, a hint of snaggletooth peeking through pearly whites and a set of beautiful dimples.

“Come on, let’s go help Donghyuck set up the umbrella.”

Jeno looks over his shoulder, to the sight of Donghyuck struggling to dig the huge orange umbrella they’d toted to the beach into the sand. Meanwhile, Mark and Jaemin are oblivious as they pass a Frisbee back and forth, letting out obnoxious whoops everytime they manage to snag it in the air.

“We probably should,” Jeno says with a sigh. He gets up, dusting off the sand that had collected underneath his shorts, and Renjun follows. All the while, their hands stay tangled in each other. Jeno doesn’t think about how much it pulls at his heart.

  


Jeno’s never been able to hide anything from Jaemin. Then again, there’s something to be said about Jeno’s brand of emotional subtlety, or complete lack thereof. It comes as a surprise to no one but Jeno when everything comes to head two days later, with the sound of Jaemin slamming the door shut.

Jeno startles, yanking off his earbuds to look up at Jaemin in alarm. “What?”

“Tell me what’s wrong,” he demands.

Panic rises from the back of Jeno’s throat, pushing up a noise that stands as a horrific cross between a gurgle and a shriek. “Nothing’s wrong,” Jeno manages to choke out.

Jaemin shakes his heads, eye flashing as he crosses the distance from the door to their beds. “I cannot believe you to have the audacity to lie to the face of someone who’s known you since you were in _diapers_.” He’s at the foot of Jeno’s bed now, arms crossed as he fixes Jeno with that knowing gaze.

“I’m not lying, nothing’s wr—“

“Oh yeah? How about you look me in the eye and say that.”

Jeno tries, he really does. He tears his eyes away from where it’s been tracing the sharp edges of the bed frame to level a gaze at Jaemin, to assert any resemblance of a confirmation. But the moment their eyes meet, all the resolve Jeno’s worked up melts, giving way to years and years of pointed glances and shared giggles.

He lets out a breathe he didn’t know he was holding. “Okay, okay, fine. I’ll tell you. It’s nothing, I just…,” he trails off, before clearing his throat and pushing the words from his mouth. “I saw you and Renjun kissing the other day.”

It’s not often Jaemin is speechless. He always has so much to say, even if he’s not saying much at all. In this moment though, Jaemin is a fish out of water, mouth open as he gulps around air, eyes searching for the right wave to take him back to the blue depths of the ocean. “W-what—”

Jeno doesn’t really want to have this conversation. Not now, preferably not ever. He sets on jamming his earbuds back on, before quirking a thin-lipped smile in Jaemin’s direction. “Really, it’s nothing.”

The conversation dies, tapering off into silence as Jeno returns to aimlessly scrolling through his Instagram feed, intent on ignoring on the hammering beat that rises in his chest. Then again, it’s always too much to hope that Jaemin will leave the topic alone, because when Jeno works up the will to look up again, Jaemin is still there. To Jeno’s horror, his eyes are shining with _that_ look. Determination.

“Are you angry?”

“What, why would I be angry—”

Jaemin reaches out, hands coming up to pull out Jeno’s earbuds and letting them fall onto the white sheets. He’s so much closer now, face only inches from Jeno’s face and the distance makes Jeno flush, shifting his line of sight to avoid looking Jaemin in the eye.

“Are you angry I kissed Renjun without telling you?”

Fire races up Jeno’s spine and smoke billows in his throat. Jeno sputters, syllables scraping against soft tissue. “I have no idea what you’re talking about—”

“Jeno.” Jaemin’s voice is quiet, the word just short of a whisper. At this distance, Jeno can see the faint scar near his right eyebrow, from the time in seventh grade when Jaemin had thought it’d be an amazing idea to jump off their treehouse and ended up with five neat stitches on his face. It was the same year they met Renjun, who’d just moved down the block from Donghyuck with three piercings on each ear and a glare that made Jeno stammer everytime they talked. Eventually, the hard glares gave away to softer smiles and Renjun became a permanent fixture in their little group, sharing knowing looks with Jeno everytime Jaemin cracks a dumb joke. Jeno doesn’t know when the glances became more, when one day, he looked over and there Renjun was with his stupidly beautiful face and for a second, all the air leaks from Jeno’s lungs. Just like he doesn’t know when Jaemin’s touches became so significant, to the point where a brush of their fingers would send nausea to Jeno’s stomach.

And now Jaemin’s here, looking at down at Jeno with those big brown eyes, lips sitting just inches from Jeno’s. There are about a thousand thoughts running through Jeno’s mind in this moment, but all of them are white noise in his ear, deafened by the roar of the air conditioning unit that sits in the corner of the room.

It’s too loud to think.

He doesn’t.

The first thing Jeno realizes is that Jaemin’s lips are chapped. Regardless, the touch blazes his skin, setting his nerves on fire as his fingers come up to graze Jaemin’s jaw. Panic bubbles in his chest when he hears the soft gasp Jaemin breathes, but it’s quickly stomped out as Jaemin presses closer, arms winding around Jeno’s neck. They push and pull, Jaemin edging his way into Jeno’s mouth, a tentative lick here and a quiet moan there. Jeno’s hands find their way to Jaemin’s hair and Jaemin finds his way to Jeno’s lap, fingers rubbing circles into the back of Jeno’s neck.

It’s Jeno who breaks the kiss first, hands gripping Jaemin’s shoulder as he pulls away to gulp for air. Jaemin whines at the lack of contact, but he sits back, wiping the saliva from his mouth.

Jeno starts, “I’m sor—”

“No, shut up.”

Jeno blinks. Unfazed, Jaemin leans closer, an arm coming up to rest against Jeno’s shoulder. He lets out an exasperated sigh. “I’m stopping you from being a complete dumbass and doing something as stupid as apologizing for kissing me, because I know you don’t mean it.” He pauses, eyes shining. “I like you.”

Jeno means to protest, to stammer out his half-assed words, but they die in his throat as Jaemin narrows his eyes.

“Okay, fine,” Jeno finally breathes out. “I’m a dumbass and I like you too, I guess.”

“And Renjun,” Jaemin adds with a smug smile.

It’s this statement that pulls the oxygen from Jeno’s lungs, leaving him with a wheeze. “What—”

“I didn’t need for you to tell me to know that,” Jaemin says with a roll of his eyes. “We’ve known each other our entire lives. Aside from being a complete dumbass, you’re not exactly the best at being subtle.”

“Did you kiss me just to insult me or—”

How typical of Jaemin to never let him finish his sentences, as he cuts him off with another press of their lips.

“You started it first,” Jaemin whispers when he pulls away.

Jeno has no quip for that. Instead, he settles for the question burning in his chest. “Do you think Renjun knows?”

**Author's Note:**

> i've been sitting on this for an entire month and i finally couldn't take it anymore so here it is, world. probably not the best idea to do this as a two-shot but as always, me and my pea brain. 
> 
> title from degas park by kevin abstract.
> 
> talk to me about renjun wearing crop tops on: [twt](https://twitter.com/supremekermit3) | [cc](https://curiouscat.me/supremekermit)


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